THE UNI STUDENT group United for Uganda has been busy this year.

From food sales to an all-school assembly to a lock-in to a hip-hop benefit show (see video above), UFU has been raising a considerable amount of money — at least $1,600 — for a grassroots organization in Uganda called Come Let’s Dance.

During the month of March the Uni club launched a personal sacrifice campaign as an initiative to raise money.

The goal of the personal sacrifice campaign was to strengthen the connection between the donor and donation and make the act of giving a more personal experience. For the duration of the campaign, participants gave up something they liked — such as a daily cup of coffee — and donated the money they would have spent on that.

The money from this campaign will be collected Friday, and the names of those who participated will be entered into a raffle for a prize. All who did not participate in the campaign can also donate on Friday.

In the meantime, here is a video, used with permission, of some of the highlights from UFU's March 7 Hip-Hop Benefit Show, which raised $567. The concert took place at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center. Performers included:

• Krukid, a Ugandan native and rising international star. He is signed with Rawkus Record; his most recent album is "Afr-I-Can."
• Cornbread, whose albums include "Leftover Bread: Crumbs for Critters." He is working on "Tha Black Magic" LP with Hipgnosis.
• Text, who just released the album "Discretionless."

Also featured in the video is UFU leader Shara Esbenshade, a senior, who provides context about the group's mission.

UFU originated two years ago to increase awareness of and raise money for the “invisible children” of northern Uganda.

Thousands of these children, members of the Acholi tribe, were abducted during the country's civil war by one of the armed factions, the Lord's Resistance Army, and forced to fight or serve as sex slaves.

Last year, UFU raised nearly $4,000 for the invisible children via two lock-ins.

This year's lock-in, held Feb. 9-10, raised $1,055, according to the UFU Web site.